1. Field
This disclosure relates to digital audio, more particularly to methods to include information into streams of digital audio data.
2. Background
Digital audio players have several advantages over tape or CD players. Digital audio players are solid-state, having few, if any moving parts. This makes them more rugged than tape or CD players. In addition, the digital nature of the devices allows them to offer some different features than would normally be available on tape or CD players. They may receive and store additional information related to each audio file, which may be referred to as a track. Examples of tracks would include tracks from a CD, or a chapter from an audible book, similar to a book-on-tape.
Currently, the methods to embed non-audio information into audio files involve modifications to the standardized file, including modification to the native file structure and the layout of the file. These need to be agreed upon and implemented by all parties in the solution chain, audio encoders, personal computer based applications, web servers and databases, as well as the playback devices. This makes the addition of additional information problematic and largely impractical. Additionally, not all of the playback devices will use the additional information. These approaches do not make any accommodations for specific configurations of playback devices.
Therefore, methods and associated devices that can interleave non-audio information into standardized formats and do so in such a manner that takes into account specific capabilities of the playback devices.